Acoustic and Clinical Data Analysis of Vocal Recordings: Pandemic Insights and Lessons.

The interest in processing human speech and other human-generated audio signals as a diagnostic tool has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project OSCAR (vOice Screening of CoronA viRus) aimed to develop an algorithm to screen for COVID-19 using a dataset of Portuguese participants with voice recordings and clinical data. This cross-sectional study aimed to characterise the pattern of sounds produced by the vocal apparatus in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection documented by a positive RT-PCR test, and to develop and validate a screening algorithm.

[Recommendations for Reducing the Environmental Impact of Inhalers in Portugal: Consensus Document].

This consensus document addresses the reduction of the environmental impact of inhalers in Portugal. It was prepared by the Portuguese Council for Health and the Environment and the societies representing the specialties that account for these drugs' largest volume of prescriptions, namely the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology, the Portuguese Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, the Portuguese Society of Pediatrics, the Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine, the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine and also a patient association, the Respira Association. The document acknowledges the significant impact of pressurized metered-dose inhalers on greenhouse gas emissions and highlights the need to transition to more sustainable alternatives.

The effectiveness of concept mapping as a tool for developing critical thinking in undergraduate medical education - a BEME systematic review: BEME Guide No. 81.

Background: Concept maps (CMs) visually represent hierarchical connections among related ideas. They foster logical organization and clarify idea relationships, potentially aiding medical students in critical thinking (to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe). However, there are inconsistent claims about the use of CMs in undergraduate medical education.

Digitally-enabled, patient-centred care in rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity: The ARIA-MASK-air approach.

MASK-air , a validated mHealth app (Medical Device regulation Class IIa) has enabled large observational implementation studies in over 58,000 people with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. It can help to address unmet patient needs in rhinitis and asthma care. MASK-air is a Good Practice of DG Santé on digitally-enabled, patient-centred care.

Consistent trajectories of rhinitis control and treatment in 16,177 weeks: The MASK-air® longitudinal study.

Introduction: Data from mHealth apps can provide valuable information on rhinitis control and treatment patterns. However, in MASK-air®, these data have only been analyzed cross-sectionally, without considering the changes of symptoms over time. We analyzed data from MASK-air® longitudinally, clustering weeks according to reported rhinitis symptoms.

Comparison of rhinitis treatments using MASK-air® data and considering the minimal important difference.

Background: Different treatments exist for allergic rhinitis (AR), including pharmacotherapy and allergen immunotherapy (AIT), but they have not been compared using direct patient data (i.e., "real-world data").

Allergen immunotherapy in MASK-air users in real-life: Results of a Bayesian mixed-effects model.

Background: Evidence regarding the effectiveness of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) on allergic rhinitis has been provided mostly by randomised controlled trials, with little data from real-life studies.

Objective: To compare the reported control of allergic rhinitis symptoms in three groups of users of the MASK-air app: those receiving sublingual AIT (SLIT), those receiving subcutaneous AIT (SCIT), and those receiving no AIT.

Methods: We assessed the MASK-air data of European users with self-reported grass pollen allergy, comparing the data reported by patients receiving SLIT, SCIT and no AIT.

Behavioural patterns in allergic rhinitis medication in Europe: A study using MASK-air real-world data.

Background: Co-medication is common among patients with allergic rhinitis (AR), but its dimension and patterns are unknown. This is particularly relevant since AR is understood differently across European countries, as reflected by rhinitis-related search patterns in Google Trends. This study aims to assess AR co-medication and its regional patterns in Europe, using real-world data.

Severe asthma in the era of COVID-19: A narrative review.

Introduction And Objectives: Severe asthma management during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a challenge and will continue to be, at least in the next few months, as herd immunity is still a mirage. A lot has to be learned about how COVID-19 affects underlying diseases, and severe asthma is no exception.

Methods: Narrative review of papers available until February 2021 in PubMed and Google Scholar, relating severe asthma and COVID-19.

Ventilatory defects and treatable traits in very elderly patients.

Though the approach used to classify chronic respiratory diseases is changing to a treatable-traits (TT) approach, data regarding very elderly patients is lacking. The objectives of this study were to assess TT frequency in very elderly patients and to study the link between extrapulmonary TT and ventilatory defects. Individuals (≥75 years) residing in elderly care centres answered a standardised questionnaire, underwent spirometry, atopy and fractional exhaled nitric oxide assessments and had their blood pressure and peripheral pulse oximetry measured.

Management of anaphylaxis due to COVID-19 vaccines in the elderly.

Older adults, especially men and/or those with diabetes, hypertension, and/or obesity, are prone to severe COVID-19. In some countries, older adults, particularly those residing in nursing homes, have been prioritized to receive COVID-19 vaccines due to high risk of death. In very rare instances, the COVID-19 vaccines can induce anaphylaxis, and the management of anaphylaxis in older people should be considered carefully.

[ARIA 2019: An Integrated Care Pathway for Allergic Rhinitis in Portugal].

The Allergic Rhinitis and Its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) initiative started more than 20 years ago and has developed and disseminated evidence-based guidelines and projects in the field of allergic rhinitis. This initiative is currently focused on providing patient-centred guidelines that contribute to an integrated care pathway between the various levels of care and take advantage of digital solutions, and the introduction of integrated care pathways in clinical practice has been recommended. In this article we describe the adaptation for Portugal of the ARIA Integrated Care Pathways document.

Revisiting the role of concept mapping in teaching and learning pathophysiology for medical students.

Concept mapping methodology is a way of representing knowledge described as a useful tool in medical education. It was introduced in the pathophysiology curricular unit at NOVA Medical School in 2002, within an ongoing experience of problem-based learning. Our goal is to present a comparison between the students' opinions and performances in two academic years, 2017-18 and 2018-19, to evaluate the effects of pedagogical changes in the concept mapping methodology, applied in the last year, which is also described in detail.

Mining for Peaks in LC-HRMS Datasets Using Finnee - A Case Study with Exhaled Breath Condensates from Healthy, Asthmatic, and COPD Patients.

Separation techniques hyphenated to high-resolution mass spectrometry are essential in untargeted metabolomic analyses. Due to the complexity and size of the resulting data, analysts rely on computer-assisted tools to mine for features that may represent a chromatographic signal. However, this step remains problematic, and a high number of false positives are often obtained.

COVID-19 pandemic: Practical considerations on the organization of an allergy clinic-An EAACI/ARIA Position Paper.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has evolved into a pandemic infectious disease transmitted by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Allergists and other healthcare providers (HCPs) in the field of allergies and associated airway diseases are on the front line, taking care of patients potentially infected with SARS-CoV-2. Hence, strategies and practices to minimize risks of infection for both HCPs and treated patients have to be developed and followed by allergy clinics.

ARIA digital anamorphosis: Digital transformation of health and care in airway diseases from research to practice.

Digital anamorphosis is used to define a distorted image of health and care that may be viewed correctly using digital tools and strategies. MASK digital anamorphosis represents the process used by MASK to develop the digital transformation of health and care in rhinitis. It strengthens the ARIA change management strategy in the prevention and management of airway disease.

A concept map template to be used by medical students for displaying pathophysiological mechanisms within clinical cases.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. The use of concept maps (CMs) in health and medical education is increasing, particularly in the last decade.

Next-generation Allergic Rhinitis and Its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines for allergic rhinitis based on Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) and real-world evidence.

The selection of pharmacotherapy for patients with allergic rhinitis aims to control the disease and depends on many factors. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) guidelines have considerably improved the treatment of allergic rhinitis. However, there is an increasing trend toward use of real-world evidence to inform clinical practice, especially because randomized controlled trials are often limited with regard to the applicability of results.